Wheelin' Car
by Penn O'Hara
Summary: What happened after the Director said 'Cut' in the 'Maltese Cross' episode's hospital room scene? Logan, Barek, Wheeler.
1. Chapter 1

**"Wheelin' Car"**

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**T**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**Timeline: Sixth Season, LOCI, during "Maltese Cross". What happened after the Director said "Cut!". The hospital room scene that wasn't shown on TV. :-) Let's hope it shows up in the DVD collection in the "Deleted Scenes" section. **

_**A/N: I've leaped into the future in my own timeline here because I enjoyed "Maltese Cross" and saw how my own storyline could sneak into it, so I have to give away a few of my secrets – my take on where Carolyn Barek went after she left Major Case and one of Logan and Barek's life decisions. :-D How these occur will unfold in my next story, "Cowboys, A Pair of Kings".**_

**oOo**

**Logan winced as he turned to accept his trousers from Wheeler, pain shooting from a myriad of damaged muscles, straight to his head. He shook out his pants and tried to screw up the courage to bend and pull them on.**

**"We've only just moved in together," a voice said with stern humor from the open hospital door, "and already my man is sitting on a bed in his underwear with another woman handing him his pants."**

**Logan grunted as his quickly indrawn breath played havoc with badly bruised ribs. **

**"Carolyn…"**

**Clutching his pants, he grimaced, smarting at the cruel sting from his cut lip. He was a mess from the beating he took in the Fire Station and it felt like everything hurt no matter what he did.**

**Carolyn swept around the end of the hospital bed, looking elegant in a well-tailored suit, her hair smoothed back into what, she told him this morning, was called a French knot. Framing his face with her hands, she looked intently into his eyes, a frown marring her face.**

**"I'm okay," he said, trying to reassure her with a smile. "Sore. But okay."**

**She pulled back and looked him up and down, then glared at him as if she had plenty to say but didn't trust herself to start. Instead, she turned to face Wheeler who was clutching a tray of coffee cups as if it were a shield. **

**Carolyn held out her hand. "I'm Carolyn Barek, newly-appointed Assistant to the Chief of D's. You must be Wheeler."**

**Wheeler relinquished one edge of the tray and placed her hand hesitantly in Carolyn's, uncomfortable with the situation. Her eyes were wary and her mouth hesitant, but Carolyn was back to skewering Logan with her gaze. She placed her palm against his face, her thumb gently touching his cut lip.**

**"This is what happens when you don't have me to watch your back anymore," she said softly, and Logan frowned, tossing a warning look to Wheeler.**

**"I'm sure your partner did all she could," Carolyn conceded, "but at least I managed to keep you out of fights in the first place. What were you thinking, Mike?"**

**"Maybe you can _manage_ to keep him in hospital then," Wheeler said, finally asserting herself. "I organized a room so that they can keep him under observation but he insists on checking himself out."**

**Barek smiled at her. "You can scold Mike, you can bust his chops, but you don't bother trying to make him do something he doesn't want to do. Isn't that right, darling?"**

**Logan wasn't sure if Carolyn was trying to score points off him or Wheeler, but he needed to put a stop to it. Sliding off the bed, he gingerly pulled up his pants, biting down on the pain, then looked around for his shirt.**

**Ditching the coffee onto the portable stand at the end of the bed, Wheeler retrieved his coat and tie. "Your shirt's history," she said, handing them to him. "Ended up in the toxic waste bin."**

**"Hell! You're kidding?!"**

**Wheeler shrugged. "It was closest."**

**Logan winced as Carolyn helped him cover his white tee-shirt with his coat and stuffed his tie into a pocket. "There," she said. "You look like that Miami Vice guy after a fight. Very sexy."**

**His mouth twisted.**

**"Don't look sour," she said, "you'll open up that lip again. Now, what happened, Mike? The phone call I got from Major Case merely said you'd been in a fight and was taken to hospital."**

**"What?! You've got a snitch workin' in the squad?" he asked, incredulous that she had someone in the Precinct to report to her.**

**"Of course! Do you doubt it?" She threaded an arm through his, leading him out of the room. "Now tell me what happened or I'll enlist Wheeler to help me get you to that hospital room after all." **

**He turned round and saw Wheeler following them, mute but frowning.**

**Logan shrugged before he realized it would hurt. "Some firefighters and I had a disagreement, that's all," he said as the three of them walked down the corridor toward the lift.**

**"Really? I thought you guys were on the same side?"**

**"We are, but these guys gang up when they don't like what they hear."**

**"And?"**

**"That's it. We had a difference of opinion."**

**"Wheeler?" Carolyn looked across Logan as they walked, fixing his partner with an interrogatory glare.**

**"I'm not," Wheeler began, clearing her throat, "comfortable talking about a case to…" She pressed her lips together, chin determined. "Well, I'm not sure in which capacity you are acting. Assistant to the Chief of D's or Logan's lover?"**

**Logan tensed, waiting for the eruption. Carolyn's temper was rare, but it was impressive when triggered.**

**"Well, how about we do it several ways then," Carolyn said ominously, stepping into Wheeler's path at the lift. "You start by reporting to the Chief's Assistant and then, as his lover, I'll knock you down a peg or two for allowing my man to take the sort of beating he did while you've barely got a scratch on you and then…_then_ as his ex-partner, I'll tell you how it _should_ be done!"**

**Despite her height advantage, Wheeler was the first one to step back. Mouth thinned, she turned to face the front of the lift. "I said I was sorry."**

**"_Sorry_?!" **

**Logan closed a hand round Carolyn's arm and squeezed. "Leave it," he murmured.**

**Carolyn's mouth opened for another onslaught and he squeezed again, harder this time. She shut her mouth with a snap.**

**The lift door opened and Wheeler strode in. "I'll go get the car," she said, hitting the buttons inside, "and meet you out front." The doors closed before Logan and Carolyn could move.**

**"I don't think you've made a favorable first impression," Logan said with a laugh.**

**"She hasn't exactly impressed me either."**

**Logan slid her a look then hit the lift call button again. "She'll be fine. She'll pan out. She's just a little green."**

**"A _little?_ Granted, I don't have all the facts, thanks to you being so close-mouthed, but from what I gather, she could have done a lot more coming to the aid of her partner." Her eyes were worried and intense. "You were mobbed, Mike. I can only imagine what I'm going to see when your clothes come off."**

**The elevator doors opened and Logan ushered her in, hitting the Ground button. As soon as they closed, he pulled her to him, grinning. "Hey, babe, if you want that to happen, you're gonna have to be nice to me." He breathed easier when he saw the battle-light in her eye go out and a smile tug at her lips. "Have I told you yet how incredibly beautiful you look, all official and elegant?" he asked, steering her interest away from the pros and cons of Wheeler's actions.**

**Carolyn laughed, lulling him into thinking he was successful. "Yes, this morning. And yesterday morning, and the morning before–"**

**He silenced her with a kiss, that touched, deflected on the first stab of pain, then pushed through the discomfort for the ultimate reward – the pleasurable kick in the groin he got whenever he held her like this.**

**He continued to kiss her until the lift doors opened on the Ground Floor. Disorientated from the passion that ignited so quickly between them, Logan swung round to see a disapproving expression on Wheeler's face.**

**"I thought you were meeting me at the car, Wheeler," he snapped. **

**"I came back for the keys. I slipped them into your pocket earlier," she said, her mouth working.**

**"Why the hell would ya do a thing like that?"**

**"Maybe because I'm partnered with a macho male who might suffer from feelings of inadequacy if a woman doesn't know her place in his scheme of things."**

**Logan's jaw dropped and he heard Carolyn gasp beside him.**

**"I'm sorry, I didn't mean–" Wheeler bit her lip, almost a look of fear in her eyes. "I'm still…shaken up from the fight." Her hands flayed in the air, then she thrust them to her side. "I'm sorry. There were so many of them. I thought you were dead. If they'd killed you, I knew it was my fault." **

**"No, it wasn't." Logan was smarting from her earlier comment, but he understood mob hysteria. It was obvious she was still rattled. **

**Digging in his suit pocket, he tossed her the keys, biting at the grab of his sore ribs. "_Shit!_" **

**"Look, Logan," she clipped. "I said I was sorry. You might feel justified in kicking shit my way–"**

**"Back off, Wheeler. I hurt, okay? Everything goddamn hurts. I wasn't swearing at _you_."**

**Her hands wrapped around his arm, Carolyn tugged on it. "Now, now children. Play nice." She coaxed Logan forward through the hospital's main doors, Wheeler following.**

**They took the trip to the parking bay slowly and in silence, Logan's mind already looking ahead to the next step in the investigation. At their police issue vehicle, Carolyn gave him a fleeting kiss on the cheek before turning to Wheeler.**

**"Watch his back this time, okay?"**

**Wheeler nodded, her mouth down-turned. "I will. I don't _really_ want you to show me how to do it. It might get crowded." She spun on her heel and let herself into the driver's side of the car.**

**Carolyn raised a brow at Mike. "What do you suppose she meant by that?"**

**"Hey!" Logan held up a hand. "I don't even wanna go there."**

**"That's good then. See that you don't." **

**She kissed him again, lingering longer, then headed for her own car. Logan watched her go, a small smile playing on his lips, liking having her going to bat for him. He maneuvered himself carefully into the passenger side of the car and grimaced at Wheeler.**

**Attempting to put her at ease, and their partnership back on an even keel, he said conversationally, "Now you've met the missus." **

**She peered at him. "I wasn't aware you were married."**

**"I'm not. We, er…co-habit."**

**"You make it sound like a dirty word."**

**"Just drive, will ya?"**

**Wheeler gunned the motor and guided the car out of the hospital grounds. "You must have an interesting life living with an Italian temper."**

**"It's not an Italian temper. It's a Polish one and it doesn't surface as often as you'd think. But my life _is_ interesting."**

**She flicked him a glance. "Care to elaborate?"**

**Logan raised both brows, cocking his head. "Definitely not!" **

**But he turned to look out the window with a smile. His mind sent him to a place he had no intention of taking Wheeler, reliving Barek in one of her sexually creative moods.**

**oOo**

**When the Captain had finally finished with them, Logan shuffled out of Ross's office behind Wheeler, tired, irritable and sore. Explaining the confrontation at the Fire Station before the Commission had gone more smoothly than he'd anticipated, but Ross's assurance that he and Wheeler were cleared of culpability was tainted by the Commissioner's need for blood from the FDNY. There was no way Logan wanted to be involved in bringing down any man with the caliber of a firefighter.**

**He was surprised, but pleased, to see Carolyn sitting in his chair, chatting to Eames leaning against his desk. Barek got up immediately, murmured to Eames and headed over to meet him, her smile chasing away some of the tiredness and most of the irritation.**

**She nodded at Wheeler, then turned her attention to him.**

**"How do you feel?" she asked, her hand on his arm.**

**"Like I stood up to a Mack Truck and lost."**

**She leaned into him, and whispered, "Looks like it's missionary tonight, hon."**

**He dipped his chin. "I could be so lucky."**

**She looked into his eyes, and he knew she was searching for any sign that he was hiding something from her. "They went easy on you?" she asked.**

**"Yeah," he said, his smile crooked. "Good thing I got friends in high places now."**

**She chuckled. "And don't you forget it. Come on, I'm taking you home."**

**Alex raised a hand to them as they walked past, and out of the squad room. Logan was thankful Goren was nowhere to be seen. He knew this incident wouldn't lessen the respect that had grown between them, but as one alpha male to the other, Logan didn't want to be seen being lead home by his mate, licking his wounds.**

**"I still want to know why you got into a fist fight," Carolyn said, keeping her pace slow down the corridor.**

**"I told you. The guys didn't like where my questioning was going."**

**"They started it?"**

**He looked ahead.**

**She made an exasperated noise with her tongue. "You should have pulled your gun, Logan."**

**He shook his head vigorously, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You don't pull a gun on a 'brother'."**

**"What if they had got your gun away from you and used it on you?" Carolyn worried, nodding to an acquaintance from another floor. "Wheeler should have done something."**

**"I told you before, she did all she could." He sounded plaintive to his own ears, but he just wanted to get home and lie down and cozy up to Carolyn, not justify their actions to her.**

**"I wish I'd been there."**

**They rode the lift to the Garage in silence and Logan hoped that was the end of it. There was still a lot of ground to cover on the case. Going to the FDNY had flushed out strong feelings of loyalty and image preservation, but not a suspect as they had hoped.**

**"You taking the day off tomorrow?" Carolyn asked, as he opened the car door for her.**

**"Can't." He shook his head. "Still on the case."**

**She gave him an annoyed look. "Stubborn as always. Want some help then?"**

**"_You_ takin' the day off?" he asked in surprise.**

**"No. Tonight. I'll run through it with you. See what you've got." She settled herself into the passenger seat and waited for him to lower himself behind the steering wheel before continuing. "Now that the Chief is involved, there's no conflict of interest. Call it collaboration."**

**He smiled and turned the ignition key. "I'd appreciate that."**

**"And those firefighters? 'Brothers' or no, you don't let them get away with it." She turned to him, her eyes deadly serious. "I don't mean take them to task on it, but…they owe you. And if it helps your case, cash in your chips. But if they're hiding something…? Take no prisoners, Logan."**

**He nodded his head sagely. Carolyn was right. They _did _owe him. Big-time.**

**"Now, enough shop-talk," she said, brightening. "Let's get you home and see what you're hiding under those clothes."**

**"The bruises?" He grinned, head cocked, then looked back at the road.**

**"And the rest…"**

**oOo**

_**A/N: Logan did, in fact, cash in his chips by getting Charlie Hugo, the guy who threw the first punch, to pretend to be Ian Duffy's lover, thus extracting a confession and case closed for Logan and Wheeler. **_


	2. Chapter 2

**"Wheelin' Car" **

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**T**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**A second chapter wasn't necessary but was added for the romantics out there, who might be interested in how Carolyn and Mike have mellowed from professional partners to personal ones. No drama, no conflict, no bodice-tearing…just mothering Logan.**_

**oOo**

_**Chapter Two**_

**Opening the door to her apartment, Carolyn crossed the threshold and stood back, her hand on the door, watching worriedly as Logan limped past her.**

**"You weren't limping before, Mike," she said, chewing her lip.**

**He shrugged and immediately hissed a breath through his teeth. "Stiffness is startin' to set in."**

**"Maybe you should have stayed in the hospital after all."**

**He gave her a disbelieving look.**

**"Yeah, I know," she admitted, realizing her mistake. His stubbornness was one of the traits that made him the man he was. "Like there was a chance in hell we could have kept you there."**

**Following him down the hall, she was surprised to see him head for the couch. "You don't want to shower first?"**

**He lowered himself gingerly onto the pillows and Carolyn had to prevent herself from helping him, guessing he'd hate to be treated like an invalid.**

**"Nah," he said, grunting as he made himself comfortable. "I just wanna sit for a bit."**

**He seemed to favor his left side, so Carolyn joined him on his right, snuggling in gently, receptive to his mumbles when she leaned in on somewhere that hurt.**

**"You didn't even take off your coat," she pointed out.**

**"Now that I'm down, I'm not gettin' back up."**

**She took his hand and linked her fingers with his. "Is this the worst beating you've had?" she asked, stretching up to kiss his chin.**

**He shook his head. "In this one, I was able to fight back."**

**Carolyn wondered if he was referring to the beatings he took from his mother or some youthful fights in a gang. She could only guess, still knowing very little about his turbulent history.**

**Mike leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. "I know how…Chanteuse felt now. Being ganged up on," he added hastily.**

**"Chanteuse?"**

**His face twisted with distaste. "The…drag queen some young punks were pickin' on. Part of the case."**

**Carolyn pursed her lips. 'You don't have much time for men who think they are women, do you?"**

**"I know where ya goin'…" he warned. "You agree with Wheeler, don't you? I'm some macho male chauvinist…"**

**"Hey, slow down." Carolyn sat up to scrutinize him more closely. "There's more to you than that. You flaunt your masculinity, yes, but I can live with that. It's who you are. You temper that with your fight for the underdog and there's a softer side to you that only the privileged get to see." She ran her hand up his chest, stroking him through the white tee-shirt. Careful to go gently, she fought the urge to explore the warmth beneath her fingertips more thoroughly.**

**"I still don't know how that fight went down," she said, "but Wheeler–"**

**"–did the right thing." He shifted uncomfortably and Carolyn wondered if it were his injuries or the argument that pained him. "Others may have joined the fray," he said, "and got badly injured themselves. You might have been one of them, and then…_then_ I'd be mad. I'm not mad at Wheeler."**

**"Then I get the privilege of being angry for both of us."**

**He grinned down at her. "You don't like her 'cos she's my partner and she's a woman, right? Go on, admit it."**

**Carolyn banked the curl of jealousy he'd guessed at and hid it behind annoyance that she'd been caught out.**

**"I admit nothing. Instead, I'll go rustle up something for you to eat, then we shower. I want to see the full extent of those injuries before I let you go back to work tomorrow."**

**She pushed herself from the couch and leant over him to kiss his eyelids shut. "Rest. I won't be long."**

**Carolyn changed out of her daytime suit into a clinging shift of olive green stretch cotton threaded with gold and hung by spaghetti shoulder straps. She knew she looked good in it – Mike had already told her so and shown her how much he appreciated the sight of her in it. She didn't necessarily want to awaken his interest tonight, but his reactions to how she looked always made her feel feminine and attractive.**

**Checking on him on the way to the kitchen, she saw he hadn't moved, his eyes closed, breathing regular, looking comfortable despite dozing upright. She smiled and continued onto the kitchen and set about making a spicy omelet burdened by chopped meats and vegetables. She doubted if his jaw would make it through a steak after taking a few punches.**

**After preparing a tray with cutlery and plates, beer cooler and wine glass, Carolyn collected her briefcase and sat down at the battered and grooved hardwood kitchen table. While the omelet was cooking gently, she pulled out a thick file and spread it open on the table's surface.**

**Scanning the pages, her eyes widened, lips parting as her interest was grabbed to the exclusion of all else. She flipped the pages over slowly, brow furrowed by what she read.**

**"Whatcha readin', babe?" Mike asked, running his hands down her sides. Carolyn jumped and gasped.**

**"I thought you were resting," she breathed, her heart thumping in her chest. **

**"I got lonely. What is it?"**

**"A detective's personnel file. One of the thickest I've ever seen."**

**"Yeah? No kidding! He's been a naughty boy?" Logan gave it a cursory glance before his mouth zeroed in on her neck, lips teasing and causing Carolyn to shiver. "It looks thicker than mine," he said, his voice muffled against her skin. "He's been a _very _naughty boy."**

**"Mike, lower," Carolyn purred. "That's nice. Hmmm. Well, actually, it _is_ yours. I pulled it today for some night-time reading."**

**"_Shit!_" He pulled back sharply. "You kiddin' me?"**

**"Not at all. The Chief gave it to me to return to records and I couldn't resist. I brought it home instead."**

**"You don't wanna be readin' that," Logan said, smoothing his hair back with the palm of his hand. **

**"Yes, I do. It's very enlightening. And amongst the tidbits on offer in here, not counting the attack on the councilman for which you are infamous, there's an entry from a court proceeding which reads thus…" She flipped back a few sheets, scanning the pages for what she'd seen earlier.**

**"…'they locked me up and that Logan dude hauled my ass against a desk and stuffed a 'burger down my throat, your Honor'." Carolyn looked up at him. "Interesting interrogation technique, Mike."**

**"Shit, I don't even remember the half of it. What do you wanna bring that stuff up for?"**

**"Just wanted to see the sort of man I'm living with," she quipped. "You ashamed of what's in there?"**

**"Nah! Knock yourself out." His hands snaked down her sides. "You're gonna be shocked."**

**"I already have been. Does it get better?"**

**He peered at the still open personnel file. "You're only a third of the way through. I can't say I learnt much from my earlier mistakes."**

**Carolyn laughed and stood to check the cooking omelet. After turning it, she ran her eye over him. He'd divested himself of his coat and was looking casual and disheveled again in his white tee and dark trousers. **

**"I was going to hand-feed you on the couch, but now that you've made the effort…" She waved her hand toward the nearest chair. "Take a seat and I'll do it here."**

**"Like last time?" he asked hopefully, flipping the wooden chair around and carefully straddling it.**

**Carolyn's smile widened. They'd already broken in the kitchen table and at _her_ instigation, not his. Plain flour, cooking wine and chocolate topping provided some interesting textures.**

**"No, not like last time," she said. "I don't want to add any more bruises."**

**"Hey, I don't blame _you_ for me falling off the table that time," he said, leaning his elbows on the chair's back and staring at her across the width of the table. "I was the one that got carried away."**

**Carolyn grinned as she scraped the omelet onto one of the plates and pushed it across to him. She gave him a fork and an arch look. She wasn't going to let him know that she was secretly amused he was a rough and tumble kind of guy. To keep him in check, he needed to think she was too mature to be taken in by his antics. **

**Grabbing some cutlery for herself, Carolyn brought her chair close to his so that they were sitting thigh to thigh. Stabbing a piece of his egg with her fork, she popped it into her mouth and placed her head on his shoulder, chewing slowly.**

**"I miss you, you know," she said. "Not being with you all day."**

**"The transfer was _your_ idea. I never went along with it from the start."**

**"I know. And I don't regret it. I still feel it's better this way, but…that doesn't stop me from missing you." She leaned across him for another piece of his omelet. "It's not so bad, is it? Giving up your independence to be with me? I know I kind of browbeat you into it–"**

**He turned his head, his eyes piercing her soul. "Remember what you said to Wheeler? Nobody can make me do something I don't want to."**

**She sighed. "Yeah, I said that, didn't I? I guess I'm just clamoring for reassurance."**

**"According to that file," Logan swept a hand toward the scattered papers, "you're the one taking the risk, not me."**

**"You're worth it, Mike." She fed him the next piece of egg on her fork. "I have to wonder what's ahead of us though. I'm ready to settle down, while you…you don't know what it's like and probably can't contemplate it, but–"**

**"Hey, one day at a time, okay? That's what we agreed on."**

**"I know." **

**Carolyn was glad he couldn't read her mind. If he even got a hint that she was thinking about little Mikes and Carolyns, she was sure he'd start running now. She repressed the thought, intuitively knowing that was a long time down the track, and finished the meal in silence, belatedly serving the wine and beer.**

**"Leave the dishes," she told him when he headed for the sink with his plate. "Bring your beer with you. I'm going to run the shower. It's time I saw the damage."**

**Damage was the right word. When she got him into the bathroom and peeled up his tee-shirt, she had to bite back her gasp at the bruising around his ribs and red and purpling patches on his stomach and sides. It was probably Carolyn's shocked imagination, but below his left ribs, there even seemed to be an impression of a closed fist and knuckles. Helping him off with his trousers and boxers, she saw that his hips and legs hadn't fared any better, the bruises against the bones there, dark and spreading.**

**"Oh, Mike," she breathed, shocked and sickened by what she saw. "They used their boots on you too?"**

**He made a face. "When a man's down and too low for your fists, I guess the feet are just as useful."**

**"That's criminal! What got into these guys? Do I need to look at your back?"**

**He turned round and the same story was there. Bruises and mottled patches marring his smooth back, spreading below his waist and onto his flanks. Carolyn's head was shaking in disbelief.**

**"You've got to prosecute, Mike. They can't get away with that."**

**Mike was shaking his head now. "No."**

**"But–"**

**"No." He turned back to her, his eyes determined. "I could've stepped back and stayed away, but I got back in Charlie's face 'cos that's what I do, and I got what I asked for."**

**"No. You might have deserved the knock-down, and I'm still not convinced about that either, but to kick a man when he's down…? No, you didn't ask for that."**

**Mike stepped up to her and rolled the straps of her dress from her shoulders. "You giving me this shower or not, 'cos I'm getting cold standing here in the raw," he said, his grin lopsided.**

**Carolyn hesitated, then sighed dramatically, recognizing Mike's way of ending a conversation he didn't want to pursue. "If I must." She leaned into the shower to manipulate the flow and heat of the water and wriggled when she felt some manipulative hands on her rear.**

**"Don't bother getting frisky, Mike," she warned. "You're showering, then I'm tucking you in bed and all you're getting is a bedtime story."**

**"Just so long as it's X-rated."**

**"Hon, you are incorrigible." **

**Carolyn turned back to him and lightly draped her arms around his neck, taking care not to press on any bruises. She tipped her head and his descended toward her, his mouth finding and claiming her lips. Carolyn yearned to mold herself to him, but mindful of his injuries, held herself back. Her care was negated by his scooping her to him, and bending her back against his arm. His hand threaded itself through her hair, releasing its length from the French knot and pulling her head back to expose her throat to his marauding lips.**

**"Mike, be care–"**

**Her words were lost under his mouth, his injuries forgotten as passion ignited and consumed her.**

**oOo**


	3. Chapter 3

**"Wheelin' Car"**

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**T**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**This one is for podie1 at his/her request. **_

_**Blucougar? Am I entering the world of hurt/comfort? Surely not... :-)**_

_**I realize using the 'bad dream' scenario is done to death by pro-fic and fan-fic writers alike and is as old as the hills but a wise person said there were only so many scenarios available in fact or fiction and you can't reinvent the material you work with, only how you work it. :-)**_

**oOo**

**Chapter Three**

**Propped against the pillows in her bed, Carolyn gazed down at the dark head nestled on her breast, her heart filled to burst. She suppressed the deep sigh that would have woken Mike from his painful slumber, continuing her fingers' regular stroke, that had sent him to sleep, up and down his neck. **

**It wasn't a peaceful sleep. His body twitched regularly and a sudden jump was accompanied by a sleepy groan as if the pain was hovering even in his slumber. Carolyn wondered if he was reliving the fight in his dreams or some other memory was tormenting him.**

**He cried out, but it was unintelligible and Carolyn couldn't stand his distress anymore. She leaned down and touched her lips to the top of his head, inhaling the clean smell of shampoo she'd massaged into his scalp earlier.**

**"Mike?" she whispered.**

**He stirred, his nose and mouth pushing against her breast and Carolyn's heart quickened. Pushing down her instinctive desire, she concentrated on waking him gently.**

**"Hon? Wake up. You're dreaming and I don't think it's a pleasant one."**

**Mike gave a jolt, thrusting away from Carolyn and groaning out loud. He doubled up in pain, heaving round drawn up knees, limbs shaking uncontrollably.**

**"My God, Mike!" Carolyn scooted across the bed, trying to wrap her arms around him, but he pushed her away.**

**He groaned again, his face twisting with agony, body thrashing now.**

**Projecting herself from the bed, Carolyn ran around to the other side, grabbed his wrists and tried to hold him down with no thought for her safety. His flailing fists caught her a few times; she even felt her bottom lip split open, and she scrabbled to regain control of his arms then, failing that, threw herself on top of him, hugging him fiercely to her. Her body absorbed his violent shoves to dislodge her, then he suddenly deflated, either in surrender or exhaustion. **

**"Mike, honey, what's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you." She crooned nonsense words to him, more important for their tone, than their meaning. "I would never hurt you."**

**His body relaxed against her slightly, but the trembling continued. Drawing back, Carolyn saw his eyes still closed, but shuttering rapidly. Amazingly, he was still asleep or unconscious, his breaths deep sonorous gasps. Fearing some sort of epileptic fit, Carolyn waited, letting the shudders ride out, but not letting him go. She knew she was putting herself in danger to hold him so, if indeed it was some form of epilepsy, but she didn't care. Whatever hell he was experiencing within, she didn't want him to suffer alone.**

**The shudders gradually lessened and finally stopped. His distressed breathing slowed and shallowed, then resumed a steady rhythm. Releasing her death grip on his body, Carolyn eased herself from him and stroked the hair from his eyes. **

**His eyelids flickered open, shut again, then slowly opened to gaze at the ceiling. Carolyn let out her breath with relief.**

**"Welcome back, hon," she said softly. **

**Turning his head slowly, Mike sought her eyes and held. "Hey, babe," he croaked.**

**"Hey to you. Where'd you go on me?"**

**"Go?" His brows knitted in confusion.**

**"Yeah, you were dreaming a marathon just then."**

**"I don't…recall."**

**Carolyn wasn't surprised, but she was worried. She vowed to get him back to the hospital tomorrow. She didn't know _how_ she was going to accomplish it, but she was going to try.**

**His eyes narrowed on her mouth. "What happened to your lip?"**

**Carolyn forced a laugh, silently asking for his forgiveness for lying to him. "That's right. Typical. So caught up in your own injuries, you didn't notice mine. I got that on the job today. Damned punk thought he'd take a swing at the Chief of Ds. I forgot I was only his assistant and not his bodyguard."**

**Logan pushed himself up on his elbow, moaned then fell back again. His jaw working, he peered at her lip. "That's fresh blood."**

**Carolyn swiped at it with the back of her hand. "Probably. I just bit it again, worried about you in the throes of a nightmare." She stroked his forehead, smoothing away his hair, her eyes searching his face intently. "You seemed in distress. Can't remember anything? Reliving the fight today, maybe?"**

**Logan frowned then closed is eyes. "I don't think so. I can't–"**

**"Then don't try." She pulled his head gently to her shoulder and lightly stroked his arm, mindful of the bruises there. "Maybe if you recall later, you might want to talk about it."**

**His body stiffened against hers and Carolyn knew then that he had secrets he didn't want to share. **

**"You don't have to bottle it up inside, you know," she said. "It wouldn't hurt to let someone in, Mike. Let someone get close to you…besides physically."**

**"I can handle it," he grunted, and Carolyn knew he believed that, not able to accept he would be better served to open up.**

**"I have no doubt you can, Mike, but I want–"**

**"_I can handle it!_" **

**He thrust off the bed, leaving her cold and afraid there wouldn't be any more to their relationship than the physical. Being gentle hadn't worked. It was time to get rough.**

**"Stop right there, Logan!" Carolyn slid off the bed and cut him off at the bedroom door, barring his escape. "You think your demons are none of my business? Well, know this." She put a hand against his chest, fixing him to the spot. "I lied. About the split lip." She waved a hand at her mouth. "I didn't get this today at work. You gave it to me, Logan, not five minutes ago. I never took you for a woman-basher. Is that in your record too? What page? Maybe I should go straight there, get an eyeful of the man I'm trying to love before it's too late."**

**"What the fuck–!" His head jerked back, his eyes wide with horror.**

**"Oh, now comes the verbal abuse, eh?" Carolyn was dying inside, doing this to him, but kid gloves had got her nowhere. "Or you wanna take another swipe at me? Go for the top lip? Or maybe an eye? Give me a decent trophy so you can be reminded of what a big man you are, how you can control your woman with force as well as everything else in your life." Her hand slipped from his chest and she rested both on his hips above the waistband of his sweats, squaring up to him. **

**"That's crap," he ground out, his lips curled in a snarl.**

**"Is it? You remember very well what your nightmare was about, Mike. You just, for some macho mental meandering of your own, won't share it with me."**

**"I…don't…hit…women," he said, ominously.**

**"Maybe not, but you _do_ beat yourself up. Why?"**

**He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing. "My…problems…are my own. I don't have to burden–"**

**"Big men don't cry, is that it?" she scoffed, her voice riddled with sarcasm. "Strong men don't share their fears with their mates. Self-sufficient sons-of-bitches don't show their underbellies. Well, I didn't fall for a big, strong self-sufficient male. I fell for a brash, abrasive honest cop who can poke fun at himself as well as others, who pouts when he hurts and flirts when he's feeling good with himself. And a man who's not afraid to step up for the downtrodden or the underdog."**

**"You don't know what you're talking about."**

**"Don't I? Step up for yourself, Mike. Hold out your hand and ask for help. Open your arms and ask for love. Unlock your heart and let out the poison in there." Her hands moved across his hips, and linked behind his back. Coming in close, she looked up, not flinching at the suppressed fury in his face. "Let it bleed out, Mike. And heal."**

**Mike's mouth was tight, his eyes scanning her face wildly. "I don't need–"**

**"The hell you don't need. I've never met a man with more of a need."**

**Mike's mouth parted on a small cry and his eyes brimmed with tears. Carolyn's heart wrenched in her chest. _Come to me_, she thought desperately. _Take the first step and come to me._**

**Her eyes held his, unflinching as she waited.**

**With a groan that wrenched from deep in his chest, Mike lifted his hands and grabbed Carolyn's shoulders, pulling her to him roughly. One hand forced her head into his shoulder as he buried his face into her neck. she felt his face wet with tears as she once more absorbed his shudders. This time, sobs of anguish wracked his body. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her fiercely, as if to draw his hurt from him. The bruises on his body must have hurt like hell, but he stayed there, cocooned in her support.**

**Although instinctively knowing the dam was there to be broken, and finally managing to knock it down, she had no idea as to its cause. She decided to pull back, the first move having been made. She wouldn't push for more. Not yet. **

**"It's okay, hon," she crooned. "I'm here for you. Let it out. And when you're ready, I'll listen. I love you. I won't make judgments. I'll be here for you. For as long as you want."**

**Carolyn stood firm, bearing the weight of this man's emotional melt-down, and suspected it was the first time anyone had bothered.**

**oOo**


	4. Chapter 4

**"Wheelin' Car" **

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**T**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**This is still for podie1 who just keeps pushing the ball…. Now, no more after this one, okay? And it's still strictly for Logan lovers…**

**Previously on "Wheelin' Car"…**

_**Mike's mouth was tight, his eyes scanning her face wildly. "I don't need–"**_

_**"The hell you don't need," Carolyn shot back. "I've never met a man with more of a need."**_

**_Mike's mouth parted on a small cry and his eyes brimmed with tears. Carolyn's heart wrenched in her chest. _Come to me_, she thought desperately. _Take the first step and come to me.**

_**Her eyes held his, unflinching as she waited.**_

_**With a groan that wrenched from deep in his chest, Mike lifted his hands and grabbed Carolyn's shoulders, pulling her to him roughly. One hand forced her head into his shoulder as he buried his face into her neck. She felt his face wet with tears as she once more absorbed his shudders. This time, sobs of anguish wracked his body. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her fiercely, as if to draw his pain from him. The bruises on his body must have hurt like hell, but he stayed there, cocooned in her support.**_

_**Although instinctively knowing the dam was there to be broken, and finally managing to knock it down, Carolyn had no idea of its cause. She decided to pull back, the first move having been made. She wouldn't push for more. Not yet. **_

_**"It's okay, hon," she crooned. "I'm here for you. Let it out. And when you're ready, I'll listen. I love you. I won't make judgments. I'll be here for you. For as long as you want."**_

_**Carolyn stood firm, bearing the weight of this man's emotional melt-down, and suspected it was the first time anyone had bothered.**_

**Chapter Four**

**Logan shifted in the antique chair – a genuine Boston Windsor and sturdy, too, Carolyn had assured him after he'd eyed its potential as a fucking surface – and drummed his fingers lightly on the armrest. Carolyn was asleep on the bed, her body barely covered, skin aglow in the single bed lamp left burning, her hair splayed across the pillow.**

**She'd held him and talked to him for hours it seemed but he could remember very little of what she said, more attuned to the softness of her assurances, the sincerity of her promises than the actual words while she cradled him to her.**

**A quick glance at the digital display on her entertainment unit, almost criminally modern among her antiques, confirmed it was nearly four am. He was certain he'd dozed at some time, but the stiffness of his body from the pummeling he took at the fire station made relaxation too uncomfortable and sleep impossible.**

**It was enough to sit here and gaze at Carolyn and truly appreciate her and the influence she had on his hereto sorry life.**

**He continued to watch her as the time passed slowly, his thoughts skittering from her to the case he was working on with Wheeler then back again to the dark beauty in the bed, until the room gradually lightened and brightened. The clock finally showed the half hour after six, galvanizing Logan to take a shower and get ready for work.**

**When he emerged from the bathroom, she had changed position on the bed but was still asleep. He donned dark trousers and a white-sleeved shirt, watching her sleep as he negotiated all the buttons. Finished, he bent over to waken her and her arms rose languorously to circle his neck and pull him down. **

**"Time to get up," he murmured against her mouth.**

**"Good morning to you too," she smiled, chiding him over his lack of manners. "Let's have the morning off." She tugged on his neck, lengthening the kiss.**

**He pressed into her briefly, then pulled back with regret. "Can't. Gotta go see the widow today."**

**Carolyn's eyes narrowed with mock distrust. "Why do I get the feeling that's just an excuse to get out of a suspected grilling from me?" She pushed herself up on the pillows, and pulled on his hand so that he fell against her. Framing his face in her hands, she insisted he look at her and be honest with her. "I'm not going to force you to tell me anything you don't want, Mike. Honest. Your secrets are safe till you're ready."**

**He nodded, believing her. "I know, but Wheeler and I _do_ need to see this woman and move on with the case. There's a killer out there and the trail is still hot."**

**Carolyn brushed her fingers over the bruise on his cheekbone. "Not as hot as my trail will blaze if anyone ever does this to you again. I might pay those firefighters a visit today–"**

**Logan swung his face out of her grasp. "I hope you're kiddin', Carolyn, because if I catch you interfering–"**

**She put her fingers against his lips, silencing him. "Don't worry, hon. I wouldn't do a crazy thing like that and dent your macho pride."**

**"I don't have– Shit!" He pushed himself from the bed, angry at her, angry at himself for closing down again, an instinctive reaction that Carolyn was helping him realize was detrimental to his peace of mind and relationships with people who tried to get close to him.**

**He left her there, heading for the kitchen when he _knew_ he should go back and apologize, but his defensive mechanism was too ingrained in him to allow a swallowing of that 'macho pride' he had denied.**

**Thumping the kitchen bench, the added hurt to an already bruised fist made him angrier still. Damn her! How dare she poke and prod at things that didn't concern her. Things that he had to live with and bury, so that he could get past them.**

**He stretched a hand to the cupboard to retrieve the beans for the coffee-maker and felt two soft arms steal about his waist and a warm cheek press against his back. **

**"You can be mad at me, Mike," she murmured, "but I won't let you push me away. You make the coffee and I'm going to go and get ready and then I'll drop you at work, and we won't talk about this again. But before we do, you're going to kiss the breath from me and make up."**

**He hesitated, processing her demand but seeing no threat there. Turning slowly, he pulled her to him, raising her on tiptoe as his head came down. He lost his anger in the soft give of her mouth; his desperation to rid his insecurities in her assured but giving nature making him rough, but she didn't flinch, nor pull back. She absorbed his frustration as he bent her over his arm, then lifted her from her feet and laid her down on the table behind her. **

**The nightdress she wore was no match for his strength nor his need.**

**oOo**

**"Do you think it's possible to have too much sex?" Carolyn gaily asked Logan as he walked round her car to join Wheeler on the pavement outside One PP.**

**Logan swung a sheepish look at Wheeler before cocking his head to the side and glaring at Carolyn.**

**"Aren't you late for work?" he insisted, attempting to close the conversation before it got started.**

**"You were the one that made us late by throwing me onto the kitchen table this morning, hon!" she called gaily as she let her car move slowly away from the curb. **

**"She did that deliberately," Wheeler observed, giving him a pitying look. "Does she see me as a threat?"**

**He shook his head. "Nah, that was punishment for me bein' an idiot this morning."**

**Wheeler grunted. "You don't strike me as a man who would allow a woman to put you in your place."**

**"Yeah?" He felt his eyes narrow and lip curl at her 'reading' of him. "Well, Wheeler, maybe I would. The _right_ woman, that is. Whaddya think about that?"**

**Her chin lifted. "I think that despite maybe two attempts at getting out of bed, you _still _managed to do it on the wrong side."**

**Wheeler stalked off, leaving Logan with his jaw hanging and pride punctured by being bested by two women this morning.**

**"_Shit!_"**

**oOo**

**Scratching out the last entry he'd made in the Duffy case file, Logan threw the pen across his desk in irritation. It had been a long and trying day and they were still no closer to solving this case, supplying no balm to the discomfort he'd been feeling from his injuries. The fact that Wheeler had solved a closed case only confused things.**

**He was aware of Wheeler watching him, her head on the side and lips pursed, but he didn't care about her disgust with his peeve. After being chipped by both Carolyn and Wheeler this morning, he'd also been targeted by Claudia Duffy, who had derived a misguided satisfaction from the attack he'd received at the hands of the firemen.**

**He'd had enough and he still had to face Carolyn again tonight. Who knows what emotional torture she planned for him later.**

**"He's all yours," Wheeler said, pushing back her chair. "This bear hasn't found any honey yet. Only bees biting his head."**

**"Huh?" Logan looked round and saw Carolyn standing behind his chair, her hands moving above his head, a highly amused look on her face. There had been some sort of communication between the two women that he hadn't been privy too.**

**_Shit!_ It was on again already. **

**Slapping the Duffy file shut, Logan swung out of his chair, and headed for the exit, not even bothering to determine if Carolyn was following him. By the time he'd reached the lift, she'd caught up, standing beside him without speaking. He kept mute himself, not providing anything for her to use as cannon fodder.**

**The lift doors opened and he waved her in ahead of him. As soon as the doors shut, Carolyn turned round to face him and slipped her arms about his waist. He tilted his chin, ignoring her advance, and watched the floor numbers count down with a concentration that was unwarranted.**

**He felt her lips on his neck, the top of her head butting his chin, but he continued to ignore her.**

**"The cold treatment isn't going to work for long, you know," she purred. "You're gonna cave soon. I know it."**

**He grunted, not giving her the satisfaction of an answer.**

**Running her hands up his back, she stood on tiptoe to press her lips to the corner of his mouth.**

**He jerked his head away.**

**One hand slid down his spine and splayed itself across his ass, then pressed him to her. He ignored his glimmer of interest and continued to watch the electronic numbers overhead.**

**"God, you're hot when you're trying to be cold." Carolyn thrust out a hand, and hit the 'Stop' on the lift. The platform beneath their feet shuddered to a halt and Logan looked down at her in alarm.**

**"No…" he pleaded, feeling his eyes widen as her hands moved over him.**

**"Yes," she promised, her look sultry and confident.**

**"Shit," he said for the fourth time that day.**

**oOo **

**Feeding himself pizza with his left hand, Logan lifted his right arm to accommodate Carolyn as she snuggled back into his shoulder. He dragged his gaze from the baseball game on Carolyn's big screen TV long enough to eye, with disinterest, the green salad she'd brought out of the kitchen, then reached over the couch armrest for another slice of pizza.**

**"So when does the fascination for this game kick in?" Carolyn asked, as she speared some salad onto a fork.**

**"When you go to a live game," he murmured, cringing at the pinwheel action of Mo Rivera before the pitcher botched his usual cutter and delivered a wide ball. **

**"Oh? Really?"**

**"You never been to Yankees' Stadium yet?" he asked incredulously. He gave Carolyn his undivided attention, disgusted with Rivera's form tonight.**

**"Once," she admitted. "With someone I was dating at the time. He was really into it. I gave it my best shot, but I was more interested in the guy on the other side of me." She chuckled. "He looked a bit like you, you know. Tall, dark and handsome." She leaned up to place a kiss on his jaw.**

**"No wonder your date never took you back again."**

**"No, it wasn't that. We amicably parted company soon after. Our careers took us in different directions."**

**Logan stroked the top of her head with his chin, feeling comfortable and at peace with her. "Do you want me to turn off the game? Do something else, maybe?"**

**"No, I'm happy sitting here. You watch if that's what you want to do."**

**Logan sighed. She was too good to him; even spoiling him. He'd never before known someone so selfless and so in tune with him. It was new and scary, and it was addictive. Could he afford to get too used to it? But could he afford to mistrust it and throw it away?**

**Putting down his half-eaten pizza, he picked up the remote, killing the sound on the TV. "Carolyn…"**

**"Hmmm?" She forked a piece of sauce-covered chicken into her mouth and smiled at him. A sliver of sauce remained on her lip and he flicked out a finger to clean it up, then licked his finger. **

**"That's tasty," he said.**

**"It's Caesar sauce. Secret remedy found in most supermarkets, but my favorite's not cheap." She offered him a piece of seasoned chicken and he chewed on it slowly. "What were you going to say, Mike?"**

**He swallowed and took a quick breath, then fixed his gaze on her, searching his head for the right words, his eyes scanning her face for inspiration to make it come out right. "I know you want me to open up to you. I know you don't ask me for much more than that, but…"**

**"You don't know if you can do it."**

**He nodded quickly. "I…I want to. I just don't–"**

**"Trust me with your fears?"**

**His arm tightened around her shoulder. "No! It's not a matter of trust. This is…new for me. It's…hard–"**

**"Which is why I'm prepared to be patient."**

**"It may never happen," he warned.**

**"And it may happen sooner than you think." She pushed herself up on the couch to swing round and gaze at him squarely. "Instinct tells me you are worth the wait, Mike. Don't underrate yourself. Meanwhile, you have a lot to give in other areas." Her mouth curved and her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'm willing to exploit those areas while I wait."**

**He smiled briefly, then sobered again. "I know this much," he said, prepared to give her what he could, "I've never felt this comfortable with a woman before."**

**"I already know that, Mike, and I appreciate how you were willing to give up your independence and move in with me. I felt that was a big ask of you but you didn't even balk at it."**

**"I feel comfortable here too. Among your things."**

**"They suit you. Like you suit me. Do you see yourself here in a month's time? A year's time? Longer?"**

**He considered her question carefully. The underlying promise of permanency didn't phase him as he expected it would. Unlike on other occasions, he didn't feel like running. **

**"Yeah," he said. "I do."**

**She smiled and nodded. "I'm glad. That's a sign of trust, Mike. And that's all I ask for. Your trust."**

**She put her salad bowl onto the floor and leaned into him to offer her lips. **

**He went one step better. Scooping her up into his arms, he lay back on the sofa bringing her down on top of him. Holding her face in both hands, he guided her mouth to his, kissing her long and thoroughly, his thumbs massaging under her jaw, and let the tide of passion that was always so close to the surface, overpower them.**

**He would try harder, he vowed. **

**For her and for himself.**

**oOo**


End file.
